Rolling Stones News: Band's Historic Cuba Concert Tonight
Cuban fans of the Rolling Stones are already lining up in the venue of the British band's first-ever concert there on Friday, March 25. As the concert is free to the public and without ticket sales, there is no way to monitor the number of people who will be seeing the concert for the very first time. However, it is believed that one out of 11 Cubans will witness this historic event.
The Cuban state media, though, has estimated that 500,000 of Rolling Stone fans may fill Havana's Ciudad Deportivo sports center's playing fields to witness the event.
Rolling Stones' inclusion of Cuba in their Latin America tour came as a surprise at it will mark a first not only for Rolling Stones but also for the country. For the very first time, Cubans will be entertained by a major non-Spanish group.
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The Rolling Stones concert is also perceived as a step by the communist Cuban government gradually opening its doors to foreigners after intently barring its citizens from cultural, ideological, and economic influences from the outside world for decades. Earlier this week, U.S. President Barack Obama also made a historic first as he visited the communist country.
Apart from inviting the Cubans to witness their concert, the Rolling Stones are also asking their fans to choose their favorite song from the band that they want them to include in their concert by voting on RollingStones.com. However, with only a handful of Cubans having access to the slow Internet connection in the country, the songs that the band will perform in the concert can only be guessed.
Forty-five year old Eddie Escobar, who owns one of the few Cuban clubs that feature live rock music, hopes that Rolling Stones' concert in Cuba bodes well for many other good things for his country.
"A Rolling Stones concert in Havana? It's a dream… rock music, I hope, will open everything else—politics, the economy, the Internet. We're 20 years behind absolutely everything music's a door, an open door to change," he said.
